Time is Eternal, Time is Law,

When the world is in peril, it's sunk in maw.

One hero, one destiny, and one hope,

Please make sure this isn't some big dope.

One world to other, and one that goes bang,

Let this one person leave this world, forever changed…

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Chapter 1: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

Land of the rising sun, land of the leaves… Land of nature, Land of flowers,

"WHY DID THIS HAPPEN!"

…Please don't let this be a downer, especially when your friendly neighborhood knucklehead, Naruto, is banging his head against a wall. The orange and black jacketed blonde kept banging his head against a nearby wooden wall, or, fence, one would call it. As he banged it against the gate repeatedly, he started to wonder why he was doing it in the first place. He stopped to ponder this, rubbing his forehead under his Konoha headband. His thoughts started to connect into place as he realized why he was banging his head…

…It involved him banging his head repeatedly once again as he recalled the events.

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It wasn't that long ago. 15 minutes ago, around the afternoon in the breezy area of Konohagakure, Naruto had a plan, a prank, a devious excuse that would make him laugh his ass off. He had just gotten back from an escorting mission, and he was looking for a way to kill stress, and what way to kill stress and time, than to make someone's a living pain for at least a few minutes?

It was a simple plan… Naruto was out in an alleyway, a path that is frequently taken when one needs to go to the Hokage tower. He had a cardboard box on his head—which said 'Please Open Me' on the front of the box- and with a couple of pellets in one hand. Why the cardboard box on his head? It could be because he wanted to be stealthy. It could be because he could talk to boxes.

…Or he was just an idiot to begin with. Regardless, Naruto took the box off his head, and set it upright, with the pellets still in his hand. He shined the pellets up into the sun, giving Naruto a clear view of the pellets. A red and blue pellet, which shined, were necessary for his devious prank to work.

"Paint Pellets," Naruto muttered. "this is going to be funny as hell."

As he focused his chakra into the pellets by placing one individual finger on each, he immediately placed them inside the box and closed it up, making sure no sunlight would get in… unless someone were to open it of course. As Naruto looked around for any passerby, he set the box in the middle of the road, being so very careful not to rattle or shake it. Then, he hid behind a nearby trash can, giggling like a little school girl would do.

5 minutes had passed, and not a single person came by. Not a soul, not a creature, not a single one. Naruto peeked from behind the trash can, making sure if even a single person was there. No footsteps, no whistling, no talking, just utter silence. Naruto crossed his arms, thinking.

"I could've sworn this was a busy road, why else would I put the box there?" He questioned himself. As he began to ponder this strange circumstance of events, he started to hear footsteps coming. It made Naruto flinch as he immediately hid behind the trashcan, not checking to see who it was walking by, since he didn't want to be caught. It made him anxious to try out this prank, and had him silent giggling, waiting for it to happen. As he heard the footsteps getting closer, they immediately stopped. Naruto assumed it stopped because the person was taking a look at the box.

"Hook line and sinker, heh heh…" Naruto said to himself quietly. With a big grin on his face, what he heard next turned into one of fear.

"Oh my… A box that wants to be open, I wonder what's inside?" said a familiar, but girly voice.

Naruto shivered, knowing who that voice was. Immediately, he poked his head away from the trashcan, and he widely eyed a familiar raven haired girl with white pupils. He could see the familiar girl open the flaps of the cardboard box, and Naruto immediately yelled.

"HINATA, DON'T OPEN THAT BOX!"

But it was too late. As soon as she opened up the flaps and looked at Naruto with a bit of shock, the box exploded into red and blue colors. Blue and red smoke flooded the area with a small, but off guard explosion, which took Hinata along with it. As the smoke slowly started to dissipate after a short few seconds—which seemed to last an eternity for Naruto—Hinata could be seen. The look on her face was that when you kick a puppy; mouth gapping and shocked. She stood there with blue and red markings all over her clothes, her face, and even her hair, creating what seemed like an art experiment gone wrong. Hinata looked at her hands, shaking as she looked at the mix of red and blue colors, on the brink of tears as she looked.

Naruto took a step forward towards Hinata, trying to utter a word, any word, but couldn't bring himself to do so. Hinata slowly looked up towards Naruto, with her eyes twitching as she slowly backed away. Step by step, she backed away, until the 3rd step. With tears coming out of her eyes, she turned around and ran away. Naruto took another step forward as he raised his hand with an open palm, as if trying to catch a bug.

"O-oy! Hinata! Wait! This is a big misunderstanding!"Naruto shouted. But his words only fell on deaf ears as she turned towards the corner, completely out of sight, and out of Naruto's view. His shoulders slumped down, turned towards a wooden fence, and started banging his head over and over again.

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Which brings where Naruto is now, contemplating why he went ahead with this prank to begin with. A good prank is fine once in awhile, but if it involves your dear and trusted friends getting involved—especially someone as sensitive as Hinata—it can really hurt your heart, and make you think: 'Why did I do that just now? Can I reverse it? Why can't anyone take a joke and forgive you?"

He keeps banging his head over and over again, thinking if Hinata hates him now. He also wondered why he couldn't just give chase to her after causing that little accidental prank. Was it because he didn't want to rub salt in an open wound? Or is it because he didn't want to make it worse with excuses that she wouldn't believe? Several similar thoughts flooded his mind, but none of it gave him an answer. As he kept performing his 'ritual' of banging his head, a man walked by, wearing a straw Japanese hat that covered his head from the sun hanging above, and wearing nothing but a black and silver Japanese robe, wearing a belt of oddities, being it a couple of brown pouches, a couple of bottles of strange liquid, and even an assortment of small needles.

The man seemed to have long black hair, all wrapped in a ponytail and had the face of an innocent and kind man. He saw a young blonde banging his head over and over on the wall, muttering how he's hated and unwanted. His brow raised, he walked up to him and poked his shoulder.

"You'll get brain damage if you keep that up, young one." The ponytail man said.

Naruto stopped banging his head against the wall, and flinched when he saw a man behind him. The blonde took a deep breath and leaned his back against the small cratered wall and stared at him.

"Maybe I should get it after what I did. What I did was unforgivable…"

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"So you accidentally pranked a close friend of yours, hm? That would understand why you were leaving a dent in that wall…"

The man felt sorry for the way Naruto was trying to alter his head earlier, so he took Naruto to his favorite Ramen place, Ichiraku's, whom Naruto claims to be the best Ramen stand in all of Konoha, no, maybe the world. As Naruto stuffed his face with ramen, he nodded a couple of times towards the man.

"If waf painful." Naruto said with his mouthful. The man sweat-dropped from Naruto's response.

"Swallow your food please… It is rude." The man said, while Naruto swallowed the face full of food in just one gulp.

"Sorry. Anyway, I said it was painful…" Naruto said while looking at his 2nd empty ramen bowl. "It was a new prank I was trying out, and it was something that I was hoping would give me a good laugh… If it was anyone I didn't know, I would've laughed my ass off… especially since the prank worked so well… But…" Naruto gave a frown. "I didn't want it to hit Hinata… I really didn't expect that, and she ran away… crying…"

The man raised a brow at this.

"You're a prankster?" The man asked. Naruto simply nodded as he faked a smile.

"The best prankster in all of Konoha, no one can match my talents!" He said proudly. But then started to realize, he was getting to know a stranger that was treating him to Ramen. Not realizing he never made introductions, he asked him.

"I'm Naruto by the way. What's your name?" The man only smirked when Naruto suddenly started doing introductions. He only shrugged.

"Yajirobi. Samurai by name, and Alchemist by trade." Yajirobi said proudly to Naruto.

Naruto tilted his head at the last title he referred himself to. "Alchemist?"

Yajirobi nodded his head, while tilting his straw hat forward.

"Indeed, an alchemist, a person who can create tonics, remedies, or, as you folk commonly say it, people who can turn lead into gold." But Yajirobi only laughed at the last comment he made. "Of course, turning lead into gold would be a bit of a ridiculous fairy tale to some people out there, since most say isn't possible."

Naruto 'ooohed' to the small but simple explanation of what an alchemist was. Naruto eyed the small bottles of liquid by Yajirobi's belt, getting curious on what the bottles were.

"An Alchemist huh… So you can create, food pellets and soldier pills or something?" Yajirobi only laughed at Naruto's comment.

"Something like that. Alchemy can be used in all sorts of ways, it's nearly endless." He said with an arm leaning on the table, and giving Naruto a smile. "You could make a tonic to boost your strength, a tonic to make you immune to disease, or, even, create an explosive that can burst into flames upon impact, kind of like a bomb."

The more Yajirobi explained it, the more Naruto got curious of this 'Alchemist' thing.

"Can it be used for pranks?" Naruto asked, and it left the man to laugh once again.

"I knew you were going to say that, ha ha…" Yajirobi takes a few bills out of his pocket and places them on the table, for the owner of the establishment to take as payment for treating Naruto. Yajirobi got up from his table and waved a hand to follow him.

"Come, I shall explain it to you as we go on a walk. I have nothing else to do at the moment."

As Naruto got up with Yajirobi, they start slowly walking towards a crowded market, several passerby going from one place to another, merchants yelling how their goods are better and more reasonably priced. It was a little noisy, but he could still hear Yajirobi speaking pretty well.

"Alchemy can be used for pranks. Like I said, it can be used for numerous things. Fire bombs are only one of the things you can use. You could even make something that spouts out tar, or mud, or even water… Then again, water in a bottle would just have the same effect as regular old water, ha-ha…" The joke fell a little flat for Naruto, since it didn't really make that much sense. Yajirobi looked at Naruto for a moment, and made a forced cough.

"A-anyway… You are a shinobi, correct?" Naruto gave a nod. "Well, Alchemy is similar to those elements and chakra you shinobi types always use. There's a structure, the chakra is the ingredient, and the element you use ignites the ingredient. It is like combining two separate items into one entirely new thing."

He then stopped for a moment and brought his hands to his sides, with a grin on his face.

"So in short, yes, Alchemy can be used for pranks, or to help for the greater good, ha-ha!" Naruto couldn't help but smile at Yajirobi's words. Learning Alchemy is the only thing Naruto wanted to think about right now.

"Ooh, ooh! Can you teach me how to use Alchemy!" Naruto said while hopping up and down like a little school girl. Yajirobi only shook his head with a smile, however, and this brought Naruto down.

"I'm only here in Konoha for one more day… However… You should read up on alchemy if you wish to learn. It is not that difficult, and I am sure you might have a knack for it, if…" He said as he placed a finger on Naruto's forehead. "…you have the persistence, patience, and motivation for it."

Naruto immediately nodded from all the information that has soaked into his head. Alchemy… The art of turning lead into gold, the art of combining ingredients or other such objects into one entity or bottle of liquid—it sounded magical and endless. Yajirobi couldn't help but laugh once more at Naruto's look of bewilderment and excitement. Yajirobi took a small flask, in the shape of what looked like a beaker, from his belt, and grabbed a bottle full of brown liquid. Naruto raised a brow at what Yajirobi was doing, but the samurai slash alchemist only smiled at him.

"I'd like to give you a nice parting gift, a potion that I've used countless times for all those sleepless nights I have…" He poured what was in the bottle, into the beaker, like a faucet filling up a small cup, and placed a brown cap onto it, and placed it into Naruto's hand.

"It's a Vitamin Potion. Drink it before you sleep tonight. It'll give you the necessary nutrients and vitamins you need for a young man like yourself to stay healthy. It will even boost your mental prowess overnight, allowing you to think harder, but more easily and quickly. I take it every day, and it's made me what I am now." Yajirobi said with a smile, and a twitch of the brow.

Naruto went wide eyed at his explanation, and stared at the brown liquid inside the beaker. He couldn't believe his ears at what Yajirobi said, and the growing grin on Naruto's face. He looked at him in awe.

"Wow Yajirobi, are you sure! This thing must have taken a long time to create!" Yajirobi gave a small chuckle at Naruto's response.

"The tonic is easy to make, and it's my own special recipe. Don't worry about it. I've got a big bottle full of it, so it is of no issue." Yajirobi said with a smile. He could see the sun setting, however, and he furrowed his brow, and then looked back at Naruto with his smile still.

"My my, time flies when you're walking around town, it seems." He said as he crossed his arms, with his eyes closed as he nodded. He opened them once more and said "It seems our time was short, but wonderful. I will be leaving in the morning for my travels."

Naruto gave a pair of puppy dog eyes towards Yajirobi. "But Yajirobi! Can't you stay in town for at least a couple more days?" Yajirobi only shook his head at this comment, and Naruto frowned. But then the samurai patted Naruto on the head.

"If you get up bright and early tomorrow, around 9 AM, you can see me off, if you wish."

Naruto nodded his head greatly, giving an overly enthusiastic agreement. Yajirobi laughed only once more until he turned his back towards Naruto, walking the other direction. He turned his head towards the blonde and waved goodbye.

"I hope to see you tomorrow then… Ja ne."

Late at night…

The moon was shining its radiance all over Konoha, as the inhabitants of this area sleep, dreaming peaceful dreams, tranquility… Some use the night to their advantage and kill people in their sleep, or go out partying all night long… or to stand guard and watch over the town, which would be town guards, or, in this case, ninja, to make sure the peace is not trampled.

Naruto was in his own room, staring at the brown liquid in the beaker of a bottle, slightly tilting it around as he saw the liquid move around. In his pajamas and his signature hat to match his nighttime wear.

"Some kind of vitamin and mental prowess increasing thingamabob huh…" He said with one hand on his chin, looking at it. "Alchemists sound so amazing… I wonder if I could somehow learn it myself? It would give me all sorts of pranks to use…

He could imagine it now… A bottle of liquid that could turn people into chickens, or cows, or even a bowl of ramen if he so chose. But those kinds of thought he shook out of his head with a giggle.

"Yeah, right, as if Alchemy could go that far! I really doubt it… But…" The thoughts still lingered in his head. So many possibilities, so many concoctions. He couldn't wait to know more about it at some point. As his eyelids started to fall, he could feel himself getting sleepier. He looked at his nightstand clock, saying it was around 10 PM. It was time for him to sleep.

Bringing the beaker of liquid with him to bed, he turned off his room light, and sat on his bed. He eyed the liquid inside the bottle once more, as if staring at an endless abyss of darkness. He just shrugged and popped the cap off. Then, one of his senses forcefully takes notice. Naruto immediately coughed as he covered his nose.

"Good GOD THIS STUFF REEKS!" Naruto said out loud. It seems Yajirobi left out a major detail of what it smelled… or, heck, maybe even tasted like.

"Urk… Why didn't he tell me this stuff would smell bad… Geez… Should I still even drink it?" Naruto pondered for a moment as he gave another whiff of the stuff. It didn't make the smell even better. But then again, some say the taste is different from the smell. He could just be exaggerating. His mouth twitched, deciding if he should drink it or not.

In the end, he just shrugged and said "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!" and placed his lips on the tip of the bottle, leaned it back, and slowly started to consume the brownish liquid into his mouth, and down his throat, while holding his nose from the horrid smell.

Naruto raised his brows the minute it hit his taste buds and consumed into his stomach below. It didn't taste that bad actually! It was almost like eating a potato, just in a liquefied form. Feeling a bit satisfied it didn't make him throw up, he leapt into bed, excited for the effects to take place tomorrow.

5 Minutes later…

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat. He could feel his throat was on fire, his stomach on fire, and his entire body aching in pain. He held his hands close to his neck, trying to gasp for air as his entire body had a spasm through each and every one of his molecules, limbs, and even organs. His heart fluttered rapidly, the color in his face melted away. While trying to sort his mind on what was happening, he fell off the bed and curled himself into a ball, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with his body, trying to fight through the pain.

Naruto coughed, repeatedly. Once he did, however, he could see a familiar substance on the wood floor, the spot where he coughed at.

Blood.

That's when he knew it. He was dying. He didn't know why, but he was dying. He prayed that the fox inside his body would heal whatever was trying to kill him, but to no avail, he couldn't tell if he was being healed as he was suffering, or if the fox could do nothing. He couldn't even sense the fox, he couldn't hear anything, he could now see his vision vanishing away, and his limbs slowly started to no longer listen to what the brain was telling him.

Eventually, Naruto's movements slowed to a crawl. He couldn't move his legs anymore, his head was twisted in a certain direction, and blood oozed out of his mouth. A minute passed, then another minute, eventually reaching 5 minutes. Naruto was laid out, on the hard wood floor, limbs and organs no longer responsive, his eyes bloodshot and staring out into nothingness.

Naruto… was dead.

Evil laughter could be heard in the distance. What Naruto's lifeless corpse did not know, is that there was a spectator in his midst, watching everything that happened to Naruto as the time passed by. A man from a nearby rooftop, sitting quietly as he twiddled his fingers around, said to himself:

"Foolish Nine Tailed Fox… One thing I didn't tell you about alchemy…" The man in robes began as he stood up onto his two feet.

"…Is that it can be used to create the deadliest poisonous potions known and not known, to mankind." He couldn't help but widely grin at his accomplishment, while disappearing off into the distance.

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AN: Feel free to leave reviews or give me advice, I would greatly appreciate it!